# First newsletter operating brief

Use this record to prepare a permission-based email list and the first newsletter issue. Completing the record is the output; sending or publishing anything remains optional.

## 1. Reader and subject

**Product or publication:**  

**Current positioning:**  

**Who I want to hear from:**  

**What they should expect from me:**  

**How often I expect to write:**  

**What I won't send:**  

## 2. Platform decision

Choose one current route.

- [ ] Substack
- [ ] Beehiiv
- [ ] Conventional email platform

**The job I need the platform to do:**  

**Why this route fits that job:**  

**Subscriber export checked:** Yes / No / Unknown  

**Publication or archive export checked:** Yes / No / Unknown  

**Domain I control that the publication will link back to:**  

## 3. Signup

**Where the signup or waitlist will appear:**  

**Signup heading:**  

**What the form says subscribers will receive:**  

**Consent wording:**  

**Privacy notice link:**  

**Confirmation shown after signup:**  

## 4. Welcome email

**From name:**  

**Reply-to address:**  

**Subject line:**  

**Reminder of what the reader joined:**  

**What they will receive and how often:**  

**One place to begin:**  

**A real question I want the reader to answer:**  

**Unsubscribe route checked:** Yes / No  

## 5. First issue

**The issue's one job:**  

**The reader question or problem:**  

**Source material I already have:**  

- [ ] Buyer or customer question
- [ ] Product or company work
- [ ] Blog article
- [ ] Original research or data
- [ ] Case study or teardown
- [ ] My experience or considered view

**What must change if I am adapting a blog post:**  

**Outline:**  

1.  
2.  
3.  

**One reader action, if the issue needs one:**  

**Claims, numbers or examples that still need checking:**  

## 6. First subscriber route

Choose one primary route for the first test.

- [ ] Website or blog signup
- [ ] Existing social audience
- [ ] Relevant personal invitation to somebody familiar with my work
- [ ] Opted-in customer audience
- [ ] Publication partnership or recommendation
- [ ] Lead magnet with separate, clear newsletter consent
- [ ] Other:  

**Why the newsletter is relevant to this audience:**  

**Invitation or distribution copy:**  

## 7. Substack or Beehiiv test, if relevant

- [ ] Publish one platform-native short post or Note
- [ ] Recommend a publication with genuine reader overlap
- [ ] Ask one well-matched publication about a collaboration
- [ ] Test a community discussion
- [ ] Skip platform activity for this cycle

**The test:**  

**What would make it worth repeating:**  

## 8. Permission, legal and delivery check

Record `yes`, `no`, `unknown` or `not applicable`.

| Check | Status | Owner or next action |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Every person knowingly subscribed or falls within a checked legal exception |  |  |
| The signup explains who is collecting the address and what will be sent |  |  |
| The privacy notice covers the data being collected |  |  |
| Every marketing email has a clear unsubscribe route |  |  |
| Opt-outs are recorded and suppressed from future sends |  |  |
| The sender name, subject line and postal details meet the applicable rules |  |  |
| SPF is configured for the sending service |  |  |
| DKIM is enabled and aligned |  |  |
| DMARC is published and monitored |  |  |
| The sending domain or subdomain is verified |  |  |
| New sending volume begins with engaged recipients and increases gradually |  |  |
| Test sends arrive correctly on mobile and desktop |  |  |

**Jurisdictions checked:**  

**Official guidance used:**  

## 9. Results

**Send date:**  

**Recipients:**  

**New subscribers by source:**  

**Delivered:**  

**Bounces:**  

**Spam complaints:**  

**Unsubscribes:**  

**Subject line:**  

**Reported open rate, with privacy and bot limits noted:**  

**Clicks connected to the issue's job:**  

**Replies:**  

**Trials, purchases, conversations or return visits:**  

**What I learned from the responses:**  

**What I still can't tell:**  

## 10. Next decision

**Keep, change or stop this cadence:**  

**Keep, change or stop this issue format:**  

**The next question worth writing about:**  

**Whether the product now needs a welcome or nurture sequence:**